Method and System for Sharing Different Web Components Between Different Web Sites in a Portal Framework

ABSTRACT

The sharing of objects may be executed by performing various share type administrations. Objects may be shared directly to a site or may be made available indirectly for reuse by a site. The objects shared and made available for reuse may be added to the site to which they are shared and made available for reuse. References to the objects shared and made available for reuse are stored in repositories in response to, and in accordance with, the share type administration performed. The storage of the references to objects is based on privileges associated with at least one of a repository, a site and a user. Objects made available for reuse by, and shared to, a site may be made unavailable for reuse by, and unshared to, the site through the execution of a share type administration.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method, a system and a computerprogram product for providing a site as a collection of software webobjects. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method, asystem and a computer program product for providing a site as acollection of web objects that can be manipulated by a set of usershaving assigned privileges defined by permissions associated with eachsoftware web object in the collection of objects.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Traditionally, web sites have been considered to be all resource filesorganized and accessible from a given domain name associated with asystem, such as a server. Typically, web sites have a common look, feeland navigational structure. Computer program code is implemented toprovide the common look, feel and navigational structure of a web site.Portals have been implemented to provide a gate to access a plurality ofweb objects of a web site for simultaneous viewing on a display. Mostcompanies and organizations provide different types of portals for avariety of purposes these include portals for the general public,intranet portals for their employees, as well as extranet portals fortheir customers, vendors, suppliers, and other parties with whom theytransact business.

The complexity and cost of developing, deploying, administering andcontinually enhancing portals, is tremendous. In developing, deployingand maintaining portals, it is often necessary to implement objects of aweb site. Typically, developing, deploying, enhancing and maintainingportals, such as implementing web objects of a web site provided by aportal, requires the physical selection and transfer of files to systemsdesired to implement web objects of a web site in a portal.Alternatively, the entire web site must be archived in a file andtransferred to a system in order to implement the web site. This type ofdevelopment, deployment, and maintenance of portals is complex, costlyand prone to error. Additionally, the process requires the manualtransfer of code and libraries to a system. Lastly, aspects of a website cannot be made available to an intended group of users forcommercial use. Companies and organizations are forced to maintainstaffs of highly skilled engineers and content developers, or tooutsource these tasks. Meanwhile, Internet-related technologies areproliferating and maturing, and Internet users' expectations continue toincrease. Maintaining an effective portal often competes with anddetracts from the resources available for an organization's primarygoals.

There is a need for a new method of administrating web objects on aportal framework as a collection of software objects. There is a needfor a method of managing the software object employing a set of usersgranted privileges associated with respective objects in the collectionof software objects. There is a need for a new method of sharing objectsof web site with other web sites. There is a need for a new method ofunsharing objects of a web site from other web sites. There is a needfor a new method to add shared objects to a web site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to embodiments of the present invention, a method, a systemand a computer program product for sharing an object in a portalframework are provided. Sites defined by a collection of softwareobjects may be managed by a set of users granted privileges associatedwith respective objects in the collection of software objects. Thesharing of objects may be executed by performing share typeadministrations. Objects may be shared directly to a site or may beshared indirectly made available for reuse by a site. The objects sharedand made available for reuse may be added to the site to which they areshared and made available for reuse. References to objects are stored inrepositories based on privileges associated with at least one of arepository, a site and a user. Objects made available for reuse by andshared to a site may be made unavailable for reuse by, and unshared to,the site through the execution of a share type administration.

A method of sharing an object in a portal framework includes storing areference to the object in a first repository and performing a firstoperation to store a duplicate reference to the object in a secondrepository. The first operation is in accordance with a first privilegegranted as defined by a permission. References to each child object orsome child objects of the object in the second repository may also bestored in the second repository.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the reference to an object isfor an object of a first site. The performance of a second operationadds the object to a second site. The method further includes performinga third operation to remove the duplicate reference of the object fromthe second repository and the object from the second site.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method includes providingaccess to the duplicate reference of the object in the secondrepository. Access is provided in accordance with a second privilegegranted as defined by a permission for the second repository. The methodfurther includes performing a second operation to store a secondduplicate of the reference to the object in a third repository. Theperformance of a third operation adds the object to a second site. Themethod further includes performing a fourth operation to remove thesecond duplicate of the reference of the object from the secondrepository and the object from the second site.

A computer program product for sharing an object in a portal frameworkincludes a computer readable medium and computer program instructions,recorded on the computer readable medium, executable by a processor. Thecomputer program instructions perform the steps of storing a referenceto the object in a first repository and performing a first operation tostore a duplicate of the reference to the object in a second repository.The first operation is in accordance with a first privilege granted asdefined by a permission.

A system for sharing an object in a portal framework includes a firstrepository operable to store a reference to the object and a secondrepository operable to store a duplicate of the reference to the objectin response to a first operation. The first operation is in accordancewith a first privilege granted as defined by a permission.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above described features and advantages of the present inventionwill be fully appreciated with reference to the detailed description andappended figures in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a functional block diagram of an embodiment of aframework in which the present invention can find application;

FIG. 2 depicts a functional block diagram of a system depicted in theframework of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 a depicts a functional block diagram of a system depicted in theframework of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 b depicts a functional block diagram of a system depicted in theframework of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 depicts a functional block diagram of a system depicted in theframework of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 a illustrates an exemplary repository framework for storing acollection of references to a collection of objects of sites inFramework 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 b illustrates exemplary rules governing setting of default valuesfor permissions of objects in sites of framework in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 c is an exemplary diagram explaining the application of thenon-site administration rule;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a site hierarchyimplemented by the present invention;

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary form for setting primary site valuesaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of object reuse betweenrepositories in Framework 500, implemented by the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary table illustrating objects and the objects theymay reference and use;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary embodiment of multi-level navigationalhorizontal configuration;

FIG. 11 is an exemplary embodiment of multi-level navigationalhorizontal and vertical configuration;

FIG. 12 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a deployment managementframework for importing and exporting components of a site for betweenportals employed by Framework 100;

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary collection of extensible markup languageand the file assets stored as individual export files;

FIG. 14 illustrates menu items of menus with link titles for menu itemsdefinitions;

FIG. 15 illustrates a segment of a site navigation captured as a menuobject;

FIG. 16 a illustrates a table for implementing the combined algorithm;

FIG. 16 b illustrates a table for implementing the exclusive algorithm;

FIG. 17 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a top level lockinginterface;

FIG. 18 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a front door page of an enduser site employing menuing structures according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 19 depicts the rules determining the operation of the control menusystem and a site navigation system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIGS. 20 a-20 b are exemplary illustrations of consoles according to anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is now described fully hereinafter with referenceto the accompanying drawings showing embodiments of the presentinvention. The present invention, however, may be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to embodimentsset forth herein. Appropriately, these embodiments are provided so thatthis disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the present invention.

Overall Framework

FIG. 1 depicts a functional block diagram of a framework in which thepresent invention can find application. In the embodiment of FIG. 1,Framework 100 may be implemented to provide for the administration ofsites on Framework 100 as a collection of software objects that may bemanaged by a set of users granted privileges associated with respectiveobjects in the collection of software objects. Framework 100 may employand maintain portals to provide gateways for access to objects of asite. Framework 100 may be implemented to perform administration such asimporting and exporting components of a site between portals onFramework 100, sharing objects between sites on Framework 100 andgranting privileges associated with objects to users of Framework 100.

A console may be employed to perform administration on a site ofFramework 100. A console may be a graphical user interface of anadministration site provided to an administrator to performadministration on objects in Framework 100. For example, a serverconsole is a graphical user interface of a server administration siteoperable to perform administration on all objects in Framework 100.Alternatively, a site console is a graphical user interface of anadministration site provided to an administrator to performadministration on objects of one or more sites. Access to a given siteconsole of an administration site may be governed by privileges definedby permissions, such as “can access site administrator context”permission for the site. Likewise, access to a given server console foran administration site be governed by privileges defined by permissions,such as “can access system administrator context” permission for theadministration site. Access to an administration site may be provided byemploying a link that appears to a user upon authentication of the user.A user with privileges to both a site console and server console mayswitch between consoles.

A site is considered, for the purposes of the present invention, to be acollection of software objects given a single identity. The singleidentity may be characterized by a shared look-and-feel, a shared set ofnavigation links, and members of a group who are automatically grantedprivileges to perform administration on at least some of the softwareobjects in the collection as well as elements of the site. Thecollection of software objects in a site includes non-file assets suchas users, groups, modules, module types, pages, menus, themes,structures, styles and templates. Detailed descriptions of each softwareobject in the collection are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,628 hereinincorporated by reference.

Elements of a site include, but are not limited to, logon permissions,administrative permissions, site branding, site content and sitenavigation. Components of a site include file assets and non-fileassets. File assets include resources such as code including JSP pages,ASP pages, Java classes and or object oriented programming languageclasses, and images including GIF files, etc. stored as a file on a filesystem and implemented to provide a site. Non-file assets include, butare not limited to, instantiated programming language objects stored ina database, such as described above (as opposed to static class files),and in addition to permissions, user preferences and settings.

A software object may represent an actor within an overall systemdesign. Such actors may correspond to real-world concepts, or may existpurely to support the overall design. Software objects encapsulate thedata and logical processes of the actor. This encapsulation makessoftware objects easy to use, because the user of a software object neednot know how the software object performs its processes. Softwareobjects are also extensible, where other software objects can be builton top of existing software objects, allowing the new software object toexpand the concept of the old software object without having to rewritethe functionality of the old software object. These properties ofsoftware objects make object-oriented systems flexible and extensible.

An object model, such as an XML object model representation of websites, includes a collection of software objects that work together indocumented relationships. Framework 100 employs an object-orientedsystem built on such an object model. Each software object in Framework100 is implemented employing a set of classes that define the behaviorand characteristics of the software object when instantiated.

In an embodiment of the present invention, logon permissions define theability of a user to access a respective site. Administrativepermissions define the ability of a user to perform administration on arespective site. Site branding defines the look-and-feel of a respectivesite. Site content includes objects in a collection of software objectsavailable within a respective site. Site navigation defines themechanism for moving between different areas of a site. Users may haveprivileges with respect to objects and elements in order to performadministration on the objects and elements of a site on framework 100.

In the FIG. 1 embodiment of the present invention, framework 100includes systems 102, systems 106, systems 108 and network 104.Framework 100 may transmit using network 104, any combination of voice,video and/or data between devices. One having ordinary skill in the artwould recognize that Framework 100 is highly scaleable where any numberof systems 102, systems 106 and systems 108 may be implemented toperform the functions of the present invention,

Each system 102 couples to systems 110 employing network 104. Systems102 may be any apparatus from which, and to which, any combination ofvoice video and/or data may be transmitted over a network 104, such asthe Internet, Intranet or an extranet. Systems 102 may be used toprovide for the administration of sites on framework 100 as a collectionof software objects that can be manipulated by a set of users havingassigned privileges defined by permissions associated with each softwareobject in the collection of software objects, share objects betweensites and automatically grant privileges associated with objects tousers.

Each system 110 couples to a system 106 employing suitable communicationmeans. Each system 110 may be any apparatus from which, and to which,any combination of voice video and/or data may be transmitted over anetwork 104, such as the Internet or an extranet. In a preferredembodiment of the present invention, the system 110 is a web server.System 110 manages web page requests from system 102 and delivers HTMLdocuments (Web pages) in response to the requests from system 106.

Each system 110 couples to a system 106 employing suitable communicationmeans. Each system 106 may be any apparatus from which, and to which,any combination of voice video and/or data may be transmitted over anetwork 104, such as the Internet or an extranet. In a preferredembodiment of the present invention, the system 106 is an applicationserver. A set of systems 106 may be operable to implement the functionsof the present invention. The presentation of web site andadministration of sites objects are implemented by system 106 employingsoftware services that are provided by software and suitable classlibraries that connect to other systems as needed. System 106 mayprovide processing between system 102 and system 108, such as deliveryof information as well as processing information for users of system102. Processing by system 106 may be performed by Java servlets,JavaServer Pages (JSPs), Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs), Active ServerPages (ASPs) and ActiveX controls. The system 110 and system 106 can beone in the same computer system or separate computer system.

Each system 108 couples to a system 106 employing suitable communicationmeans. Each system 108 may be any apparatus that executes programinstruction in accordance with the present invention to store data andprovide software object persistence via a suitable database interface.In addition, system 108 may directly transfer information to system 110or through system 106 in response to a request for information as wellas transfer information to user system 102 in response to a request madeto system 110 by user system 102 over network 104.

Network 104 may be a local area network, a wide area network, theInternet, an extranet, a wireless network, or the like. The network 104may transfer information between system 102 and system 106, system 108and system 110. The information transferred may include any combinationof voice, video and/or data. Network 104 can be implemented as awireless network or a wired network.

User groups of Framework 100 include, but are not limited to, aneveryone group, user group, new user group, site administration group,shared group, Normal Groups, Guest Group, Registered Users Group, andSelf Registered Users Groups. Groups define the characteristics of usermembers based on privileges granted to the groups to performadministration. The privileges granted to users and groups are definedby values assigned to permissions settings based on, in part, anoccurrence of a type of administration in Framework 100. The valuesassigned to permissions may be set automatically as the result of a typeof administration or operation by a type of administration operation.

An everyone group may be a virtual system group. It may contain everyuser in Framework 100, including guests. The everyone group is a specialconceptual group which allows batch permissions to be set for all groupsimplemented as a flag that lives on every permission whichshort-circuits the group-based permissions lookup. The SiteAdministration group may be automatically created for a site whenever auser creates the site. A site administration group may contain usersgranted privileges to perform administration on the site. Siteadministration groups may be stored in a special table in a system, suchas system 108.

A User group may include users granted privileges to performadministration on an object of a site. A shared group may includemembers of a group available for sharing by a site. Members of the sharegroup may access a site when granted privileges to access the site. Aguest group may be a virtual group of users who are not registered witha site in a site context, or with any site in a system context. Themembers of the guest group may be granted privileges with respects to asite. Access to a site by members of the guest group may require thesite to allow access by guest users. A new user group may be a new userassigned to a newly created site.

Registered users group may be a virtual group of users who are accessinga site in a site context, or a site in a system context, in accordancewith privileges granted to access the site. The members of theregistered user group may be granted privileges with respect to a site.Access to the site by members of a registered user group may require thesite to allow access by guest users. A self registered users group maybe a virtual group of users who are accessing a site in a site context,or a site in a system context, in accordance with privileges granted bythe site. The members of the registered user group may be grantedprivileges with respects to a site. Access to the site by members of aregistered user group may require the site to allow self-registration byusers. Normal group may be a group created by an administrator and givenprivileges as defined by the administrator for that group.

Framework 100 users include administrators, delegated administrators andend-users. Administrators include server administrators and siteadministrators. Server administrators are installation-level users whomay have privileges over all aspects of an installation. Serveradministrator may have privileges over all objects in Framework 100 inaccordance with permission settings. Server administrators may haveprivileges over objects of a site in accordance with privileges grantedto the server administrator by membership within groups on Framework100. Privileges granted server administrators may include administrationof objects on a system and objects on sites. Administration may include,but is not limited to, deploying a site, locking down elements, creatingsites anywhere in Framework 100, granting and revoking privileges tousers for performing administration, configuring privileges for sites,logging on to end-user sites, mapping created sites to URL, modifyingsystems properties, site branding and sharing objects between sites.Administration by a server administrator may be performed in a systemcontext from a server console accessible in accordance with privilegesgranted the server administrator and in a site context from a siteconsole accessible in accordance with privileges granted the serveradministrator.

Site administrators may have privileges over at least some objects inFramework 100 in accordance with permission settings. Siteadministrators may have privileges over objects in a site in accordancewith privileges granted the site administrators by membership in a siteadministration group. Privileges granted to site administrators mayinclude administration of objects on a site. Privileges may be grantedby configuring the permissions of a child site by a site administratorof a parent site to the child site, or directly by a serveradministrator employing a server console. Alternatively, siteadministrators may be granted privileges by configuring permissions fora site by a server administrator employing a server console. Privilegesgranted to a site administrator may include, but is not limited to,deploying sites, creating sub-sites of a site, accessing objects onFramework 100 for sites and sub-sites, managing the look, feel,membership and navigational structure of sites and sub-sites, modifyingbranding of sites and sub-sites, sharing objects with sites, overridingdefault site settings, previewing sites and performing user searches. Asite administrator exists as long as the respective site there is a siteadministrator for exists.

Delegated administrators include delegated server administrators anddelegated site administrators. Delegated Server Administrators may begranted privileges over at least some of the object in framework 100 inaccordance with permission settings. Delegated Server administrators maybe granted at least some of the privileges of a server administratorover objects by a server administrator. Administration by a delegatedserver administrator may be performed in a system context from a serverconsole accessible in accordance with privileges granted the serveradministrator and in a site context from a site console accessible inaccordance with privileges granted by the server administrator.

Delegated site administrators may be granted at least some of theprivileges over at least some of the objects in Framework 100 inaccordance with permission settings. Delegated site administrators maybe granted at least some of the privileges of a site administrator overobjects by the site administrator. Administration by a delegated siteadministrator may be performed in a site context from a site consoleaccessible in accordance with privileges granted by the siteadministrator.

End-users include guest users and registered users. Guest users may beusers not registered with a site, such as users without a password orlogin Id. A guest user may access sites allowing access by guest users.Registered users include users who have performed registration in orderto receive a login Id and password for a site allowing self-registrationby users. Registered user may access sites they are registered with aswell as other sites allowing self-registration by users.

Permissions that may be configured by setting permission values to grantprivileges include system permissions, site permissions, end-userpermissions and object permissions. Permissions values may be setautomatically, in response to the occurrence of a type ofadministration, and explicitly, by a type of administration. Systemspermissions are granted in a system context. Systems permissions valuesmay be set for a system to grant at least some privileges of a serveradministrator over the system to delegated server administrator.Privileges granted to delegated server administrators by setting systemspermissions values may be performed by the delegated serveradministrator from a server console. System permissions includes cancreate ungrouped users permissions and can edit/delete ungrouped userspermissions.

Site permissions are granted to site administrator in a site context.Site permissions may be set for a site to grant privileges to siteadministrators over the site. The site administrator may then delegatetheir privileges to groups within a respective site associated with thesite administrator from the site console for the site. Privilegesgranted to a site administrator, by setting site permissions for a site,may be performed by the site administrator from the site console for thesite. Site permissions include can add to site and can share to site.

Component (object) administration permissions are granted toadministrators in a system context. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, object administrative permissions may be set for an object togrant privileges to a delegated administrator, such as a delegated siteadministrator, over the object from a server console and a site console.Privileges granted to delegated administrators by setting objectsadministrative permissions from the server console may be performed froma server console and any site console by the delegated administrators.Privileges granted to delegated administrators by setting objectsadministrative permissions from the site console may be performed from aserver console and a site console of a site by the delegatedadministrator.

End User Permissions may define tasks performable by end-users. End userpermissions values may be configured by administrators, such as serverand site. End User permissions values configured in the site contextapply to a site. End User permissions values set in the system contextfor objects apply to all sites that employ the object. End userpermissions include module enabled, module editable, module minimizableand menu enabled. End user permission may define tasks performable bygroups. An end user permission for a group set from the system contextapplies to the group in all sites in the system. For example, a sitewill have no control over user access to a module with module enabledpermission for the everyone group set.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustration of end user systems 102. The enduser systems 102 may include CPU 202, connected by a bus or othersuitable interface means to system memory 208. The user system 102 canalso include input/output device interface, and display interface 204.Input/output device interface 204 enables interaction with and executionof instruction by user system 102 as directed by a user. Displayinterface can display information generated for output by user system102 as provided by system 106. As shown, the various components of theuser system 102 communicate through bus 218 or similar architecture.Accordingly, systems memory 208 is disposed in communication with CPU202 through bus 218. Systems memory 208 includes Browser Program 212,operating system 214 and data 216.

Operating system 214 provides overall system functionality. Browserprogram 212 implements computer program instructions executed by CPU202.

The browser program 212 enables the information transmitted from system106 to be conveyed to a user in a manner that can be understood by auser of user system 102. The browser program 212 serves as a front endto the World Wide Web on the Internet. The browser program 212 may beused to display interfaces, such as consoles to perform administrationon sites of framework 100 over network 104.

FIG. 3 a is an exemplary block diagram of system 110 illustrated in FIG.1, in which the present invention may be implemented. System 110 managesweb page requests from system 102 and delivers HTML documents (Webpages) in response to the requests from system 106. System 110 includesa processor (CPU) 326 connected by a bus 340 to memory 332, networkinterface 320 and I/O circuitry 324.

In the FIG. 3 a embodiment, CPU 326 is a microprocessor, such as anINTEL PENTIUM® or AMD® processor, but may be any processor that executesprogram instructions in order to carry out the functions of the presentinvention. As shown, CPU 326 and the various other components of thesystem 110 communicate through a system bus 340 or similar architecture.Network interface 320 provides an interface between system 110 and anetwork 104, such as the Internet. The network 104 may be a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or combinations thereof. I/Ocircuitry 304 provides an interface for the input of structuredinformation to and output of structured information from system 110. I/Ocircuitry 304 includes input devices, such as trackball, mice, touchpadsand keyboards, and output devices, such as printers and monitors.

In the FIG. 3 a embodiment, memory 332 stores operating system 338, webserver software 336 and data 334. Operating system 338 provides overallsystem functionality. Data 334 may be any structured data required bysystem 110. Web server software 336 performs the functions for managingthe delivery of web pages.

FIG. 3 b is an exemplary block diagram of system 106 illustrated in FIG.1, in which the present invention may be implemented. System 106performs the functions for administration of sites on framework 100 as acollection of software objects that can be manipulated by a set of usershaving assigned privileges. System 106 includes a processor (CPU) 302connected by a bus 318 to memory 308, network interface 310 and I/Ocircuitry 304.

In the FIG. 3 b embodiment, CPU 302 is a microprocessor, such as anINTEL PENTIUM® or AMID® processor, but may be any processor thatexecutes program instructions in order to carry out the functions of thepresent invention. As shown, CPU 302 and the various other components ofthe system 106 communicate through a system bus 318 or similararchitecture. Network interface 310 provides an interface between system106 and a network 104, such as the Internet. The network 104 may be alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or combinationsthereof. I/O circuitry 304 provides an interface for the input ofstructured information to and output of structured information fromsystem 106. I/O circuitry 304 includes input devices, such as trackball,mice, touchpads and keyboards, and output devices, such as printers andmonitors.

In the FIG. 3 b embodiment, memory 308 stores site administrationsoftware 314, operating system 316, data 312, application serversoftware 320 and java virtual machine 322. Operating system 316 providesoverall system functionality. Data 312 may be any structured datarequired by system 106, such as asset files and non-asset files. Siteadministration software 314 includes modular applications that runwithin sites. Administration software 314 provides the functionality forproviding and managing of sites on framework 100 as a collection of webobjects that can be manipulated by a set of users having assignedprivileges defined by permissions associated with each object in thecollection of objects. The java virtual machine 322 converts the Javaintermediate language (bytecode) into machine language and executes it.Application server software 322 performs the functions for processingbetween system 102 and system 108

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of system 108 illustrated in FIG.1, in which the present invention may be implemented. System 108 may bea database management system that includes data for retrieval by system106 and employed by Framework 100 to perform the functions associatedwith the present invention. In the FIG. 4 embodiment, system 108 is ageneral purpose computer, such as a workstation, personal computer,server or the like, but may be any apparatus that executes programinstruction in accordance with the present invention. System 108includes a processor (CPU) 402 connected by a bus 418 to memory 408,network interface 410 and I/O circuitry 404.

In the FIG. 4 embodiment, CPU 402 is a microprocessor, such as an INTELPENTIUM® or AMD® processor, but may be any processor that executesprogram instructions in order to carry out the functions of the presentinvention. As shown, CPU 402 and the various other components of theserver 108 communicate through a system bus 418 or similar architecture.Network interface 410 provides an interface between system 108 and anetwork 104, such as the Internet. The network 104 may be a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or combinations thereof. I/Ocircuitry provides an interface for the input of structured informationto and output of structured information from system 108. I/O circuitry404 includes input devices, such as trackball, mice, touchpads andkeyboards, and output devices, such as printers and monitors.

In the FIG. 4 embodiment, memory 408 stores data 416, such a file assetand non-file assets employed by Framework 100. Memory 408 includesroutines, such as database management routines 412, and operating system414. Memory 408 includes memory devices, such as read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM) hard disks, CD-ROMs, floppy disks, opticalstorage devices, magnetic storage devices, etc.

Repository Framework

FIG. 5 a illustrates an exemplary repository framework for storing acollection of references associated with a collection of objects inFramework 100 for sites according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In the FIG. 5 a embodiment of the present invention, therepository framework 500 may be implement to perform a sharing type ofadministration. A sharing type of administration makes an object inFramework 100 available for reuse by a site, directly or indirectly, bystoring duplicates to a reference to the object in one or morerepository. In the FIG. 5 embodiment, repository framework 500 includessite repositories 506, a system repository 508 and a shared repository510. A combination of at least two repositories in framework 500 may beemployed to perform a sharing type of administration. A reference to anobject in Framework 100 may be stored in any number of repositories inrepository framework 500 or in no repositories at all.

In the FIG. 5 a embodiment of the present invention, a site repository506 stores a collection of references to a collection of objects for asite. The collection of objects may be stored in a system, such as 108.Each site in Framework 100 has an associated site repository. Referencesto objects may be stored in a site repository based on privilegesgranted with respect to the site associated with the site repository.For example, a site desiring to perform a share type administration musthave privileges over the site where a reference to an object is to bestored.

A site repository provides partitioning of referenced objects inFramework 100 based on sites and constrains viewing of referencedobjects stored in a site repository to a set of users, such as siteadministrators. This type partitioning provides a security model thatfacilitates the creation of unique sites. Storage of duplicatereferences to objects in a site repository 506 makes the objectavailable for reuse by a site associated with the site repository 506.For example, a site A will be able to use objects in a repository forsite A and a site B will be able to use objects in a repository for siteB. Each object available for reuse in a site repository may be providedwith permissions to define privileges for the object.

A site administrator for a site may be automatically granted privilegesover objects referenced in a site repository for the site. In the FIG. 5a embodiment of the present invention, the set of privileges includesviewing and modifying the references to objects in the site repository500 for a site. Modification of objects referenced in a site repository500 for a site may include adding and removing the references to objectsin the collection of software objects stored in the site repository.

In the FIG. 5 a embodiment of the present invention, the reference toobjects stored in a site repository 506 may include references togroups. Each reference to a group may allow for access to individualusers in the group. Each group may be granted privileges to create, editand delete ungrouped users. An Ungrouped user is a user not yet assignedto group. The ungrouped user may or may not have privileges associatedwith other groups. System permissions, such as can create ungroupedusers and can edit/delete ungrouped users, define groups privileges tocreate, edit and delete ungrouped users. The storage of references togroups in a site repository makes the groups and the respective users inthe group available for functions done in the context of the site forthe site repository. In an embodiment of the present invention, usersmay not be shared between site repositories.

In the FIG. 5 a embodiment of the present invention, a system repository508 is a view of a collection references to objects on Framework 100.The references to objects provided in a view of a system repository 508is based on privileges granted to a user to access objects in Framework100. The reference to objects provided in the view may be further basedon system repository privileges, such as can see system repositoryprivileges and can see system administration context privileges, grantedto the user with respect to accessing the system repository. The valuesof permissions, such as can see system repository and can see systemadministration context, define the system repository privileges.

In the FIG. 5 a embodiment of the present invention, a shared repository510 stores a collection of references to a collection of objects onFramework 100 that are available for reuse by sites on Framework 100.Each site in Framework 100 has a section in a shared repository 510 asillustrated in FIG. 5 b and discussed further herein below. The storageof references to objects in a shared repository may require designationof the section of the shared repository for a site. The references toobjects stored in a section of shared repository for a site are theobjects available for reuse by the site. An object may be referenced ina share repository a number of times, such as once in a section for eachsite, on Framework 100 in the shared repository. For example, module Bis stored once in a site A section, a site B section, and an All Sitessection of a shared repository. In the FIG. 5 a embodiment of thepresent invention, references to objects will be stored in a sharedrepository as read-only by default in both a site context and systemwide context. Site Administrators of a site may be granted privileges tomodify the read-only status of references to objects in a section of ashared repository for the site.

In an embodiment of the present invention, references to objects may bestored in a section of a shared repository for a particular site byusers having visibility privileges for the site and can share intoshared repository privileges for the system. These privileges may begranted by setting appropriate permissions values for the user. In orderto share objects to an All Sites section of a shared repository canshare to all sites privileges may be required by users sharing theobjects. All sites privileges may be granted to users by setting allsites system permissions for the users.

References to objects stored in a shared repository may be viewed by aset of users. In an embodiment of the present invention, references toobjects stored in a shared repository may be viewed by a set of users ina site context and a system context. References to objects viewed from asite context and system context may be references to objects in asection of a shared repository for the site. A set of users having cansee shared repository privileges for a particular site may view thereference to objects in the section of a shared repository for the site.The set of users may be granted these privileges by setting can seeshared repository permissions for the set of users. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, references to objects viewed from a systemcontext. References to objects viewed from a system context may bereferences to objects in a shared repository. A set of users havingsystem wide can see shared repository privileges may view objects in asection of a shared repository for the site. These privileges may begranted to the set of users by setting system wide can see sharedrepository permissions.

In an embodiment of the present invention, an unsharing type ofadministration removes an object in Framework 100 from a site byremoving a reference to the object. An object may be removed from a siteby removing the reference to the object from a repository. This type ofunsharing applies to the site that the objects were intended to beshared with by the user. For example, if an object was shared to a siteB by a site A and shared by site B to a site C, unsharing by site A onlyaffects site B and not site C. In order for the object to be unshared tosite C, site B will have to unshare the object. Objects may be unsharedwith all sites by deleting the objects from the Framework 100.

Automatic Permissioning Framework

Permissions to define privileges associated with objects may be set withdefault values in Framework 100. Default values automatically grantprivileges with respects to objects. FIG. 5 b illustrates exemplaryrules governing setting of default values for permissions of objects. Inan embodiment of the present invention, the rules governing setting ofdefault values for permissions of objects apply all the time. They arenot mutually exclusive. The default values may be overridden aftercreation in a site context or system context. Automatic permissionsprevent objects from being orphaned the moment they are created, providecreators of objects access rights to the objects, allow a peer group ofa set of users to also have access rights over the object, allow a setof users to perform administration on that object other than the creatorand reduces administration duties.

Privileges may be granted automatically to users and groups in Framework100 in order to perform various types of administration. The automaticgrant of privileges is governed by rules implemented by Framework 100.In an embodiment of the present invention, the rules implemented byFramework 100 define values automatically assigned to permission valuesbased on in part, an occurrence of a type of administration in Framework100. The values automatically assigned to permission can be overriddenat the site level provided a set of users have the privileges to modifythe system properties in a site context.

The rules governing the automatic privileges include object type create,site transfer, site administration group, non-site administration groupand delegated administration. In the embodiment of the presentinvention, the object type create rule pertains to the creation of a newobject on systems level and applies to users having system levelpermission to create that particular type of object. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, the object type create rule pertains to thecreation of a new object on a site level and applies to users havingpermission in a site to create that particular type of object.

The site transfer rule defines the transfer of objects to a siterepository. In an embodiment of the present invention, the site transferrule precludes the storing of references to objects to a site repositoryby users without “can add to this site” permission for a site associatedwith the site repository. In an embodiment of the present invention, thesite transfer rule precludes sharing objects to a site repository byusers without “can share to site” permission for the site associatedwith the site repository. Sharing objects may include performing a sharetype administration to store a reference to an object in a respectiverepository. In an embodiment of the present invention, the site transferrule precludes sharing objects to a system repository by users withoutsite-level “can share to server” permission.

The site administration rule defines permission value settings forobject to specify the scope of administrative privileges automaticallyprovided to an administration group. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, a site administrator group is granted full administrativeprivileges over objects created for a site. This rule enables a userassigned to the administration group for a site to maintain strictcontrol over the site as well as prevents the creation of objects byusers other than users assigned to the administration group which may bethen left the responsibility of the users in the administration group.

The non-site administration rule defines the scope of administrationprivileges provided to a group as a result of object creation. A usermay be included in a set of groups with can create privileges. In anembodiment of the present invention, a non-site administration group isgranted full administrative privileges over objects created by a user inthe non-site administration group and granted can create privileges bythe non-site administration group. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, a non-site administration group is selected to be grantedfull administrative privileges over objects created by a user in groupswhich include the non-site administration group and granted can createprivileges by the non-site administration group.

FIG. 5 c is an exemplary diagram explaining the application of thenon-site administration rule. The non-site administration rule applieswhen a user having can create privileges creates an object in a site. Inan embodiment of the present invention, a user having can createprivileges due to membership in a single group will result in the singlegroup having full privileges over objects created by the users. In anembodiment of the present invention, a user having can create privilegesdue to membership in more than one group will result in one of thegroups having full privileges over objects created by the user. Thegroup having full privileges is selected by the user. In an embodimentof the present invention, a user having can create privileges due tomembership in more than one group, including a site administrationgroup, will result in the site administration group and another one ofthe group having full privileges over objects created by the user. Thegroup other than the site administration group having full privilege isselected by the user.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5 c, column 510 is a list of groups having“can create z” permission for a site Y. Each cell in columns 512-520specifies the groups that users 1-user 5 have membership. In theexamples shown in FIG. 5 c, User 1 is a member of the site YAdministrator Group. The site Y Administrator Group is automaticallygiven full administrator permission over Z without prompting user 1 toselect the group. User 2 is a member of both Group A and the site YAdministration Group. Group A is selected to grant full administrationprivileges over Z with prompting to user 2. The site Y AdministrationGroup is automatically granted full administrative privileges over Zwithout prompting user 2. User 3 is the similar to User 2 except thatthe user may select more than one group to grant full administrationprivileges over Z. User 4 is similar to User 1 in that the siteadministrator group is automatically granted full administrativeprivileges over Z without prompting user 4, while Group A is selected togrant full administrative privileges over Z with prompting to user 4.User 5 is similar to User 3 except that the user is prompted to select 1or more groups.

The delegated administration rule requires that an object created by adelegated administrator in a system context designates at lease onegroup having can create privileges for the object to receive fulladministrative permission over the object.

Framework Administration

Administration of sites may be implemented by site administrationsoftware 314. Administration may include, but is not limited to,deploying a site, locking down elements, creating sites anywhere inFramework 100, granting and revoking privileges to users for performingadministration, configuring privileges for sites, mapping created sitesto URL, modifying systems properties, site branding, sharing objectsbetween sites and deploying components between portals. Theadministration of sites may be performed in a site context and a systemcontext. Administrative users and delegated administrative users havingboth administrative visible privileges for a site and can access siteadministration context privileges for the site may performadministration in a site context. The Administrative users and delegatedadministrative users may be granted these privileges through the settingof administrative visible permissions for a site and can accessadministration context permissions for the site.

Administrative users and delegated administrative users having both cansee system repository privileges and can access system-wideadministration context privileges may perform administration in asystem-wide context. The Administrative users and delegatedadministrative users may be granted these privileges through the settingof can see system repository permissions and can access systemadministration context permissions. The Administrative users anddelegated administrative users may perform administration on all objectsin Framework 100 based on privileges automatically granted, such asserver administrators, or by delegation, such as delegatedadministrators. Administration may be performed on a site context tosystem properties having default values.

The creating site administration type may include creating sites. Sitesmay be created on Framework 100 in a bulk automated fashion and amanually piece by piece fashion. The number of sites that may be createdis unlimited. Additionally, sites may be created where sites areorganized in a tree structure forming a site hierarchy. Created sitesmay be viewed and maintained by users granted privilege to view and/ormaintain created sites. Privileges may be granted to users automaticallyor by delegation.

Sites may be created on Framework 100 in a bulk automated fashion and amanual piece by piece fashion. Bulk site-creation may be performed byemploying an XML-based Sites Installation Utility. Bulk site-creationmay be performed at an initial installation of the present invention orat a special post-installation of the present invention. Installation ofthe present invention may be performed without restarting systems ofFramework 100 based on the types of elements, such as new module typesand users contained within added sites. Software installer andindividual module installers enable the addition and update of siteswithout restarting the software instance. This bulk mechanism shall workacross clustered installations.

Manual Site creation may be performed by a set of users as defined byprivilege granted automatically or specifically delegated by a user withprivileges to delegate such privilege. The set of users may include auser, such as a server administrator, a set of users assigned sitecreation privileges by the user, and a set of users assigned sitecreation privileges by the set of users assigned site creationprivileges.

The number of sites that may be created is unlimited. In an embodimentof the present invention, the number of sites that may be created ispredetermined to a maximum number of N sites. The maximum number ofsites created versus the number of remaining sites that may be createdis available to a user, such as a server administrator. In an embodimentof the present invention, the creation of a maximum number sitesprecludes the creation of additional sites beyond the maximum number.This may disable the availability of create site functionality.

Each site may include selectable options to control accessibility to asite. The selectable option includes a site enabled, site preview, aremember me and re-authentication. These options may be selected byadministrators, such as site and server. The site enabled option maycontrol the publishing of a site and the visibility of the site byend-users. The site enabled options overrides standard permissions onthe site for viewing the site. Site administrators for a site may viewthe site despite the setting of the site enabled option. The sitepreview option may be selectable from the administration console. Anadministrator of multiple sites may preview each of the sites in asystem context employing an administration site. Previewing a siteincludes an administrator selecting the identity of a user to define aperspective from which to preview a site. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the administrator has edit/delete permission over theuser whose identity is selected. The re-authentication (re-login) optionfor a site requires a user who has already logged to another site inFramework 100 to login to the site that requires re-authentication. Oncea user has logged into a site with the re-authentication optionselected, the user will be authenticated for the duration of the sessionwith the site. In an embodiment of the present invention, a user shouldremain authenticated against all sites in the system that the user waspreviously authenticated. The Remember Me option allows users ids to bestored on their computer.

The ability of a user to perform administration may be defined by createsite privileges granted to the user. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the created site privileges may be granted by settingrequisite permissions for the user. Create site privileges may begranted automatically and by delegation. For example, create siteprivileges may be granted automatically to the user, such as serveradministrator and a member of a site administration group, upon theoccurrence of an event, such as installation of the present inventionand creation of a site. Alternatively, create site privileges may begranted by delegation to the user, such as delegated administrators andend-users, upon the assignment of create site privilege by a user havingcreate site privileges. Sets of users automatically granted create siteprivileges facilitate the maintenance of sites. Site administratorsexist for as long as the site for which they have create site privilegesexists. For example, a site administration group is created upon thecreation of a site and automatically receives create site privileges tocreate a site as well as immediate control over the sites functionality,look-and-feel, navigational format, and user membership. This group andthe members assigned to this group may exist for as long as the sitethat their create site privilege is based upon exists.

Sites created in Framework 100 may be organized in a tree structure toform a site hierarchy. A site hierarchy is a group of sites that have ahierarchical administrative organization. Administrators of a site mayperform administration on a sub-site of the site including grantingcreate site privileges to users to create sub-sites to the site and canshare to site privileges to users to allow sharing objects to the site.Privileges granted by a site administrator to users of sub-sites may berevoked by the site administrator. This type of site creation provides apermissioning hierarchy. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of asite hierarchy, implemented by the present invention. In the FIG. 6embodiment of the present invention, Site A (602 a) and site B (602 b)are parent sites (top-level site). These top-level sites were created bya set of users (604), such as server administrators, automaticallygranted create site privileges upon an event, such as installation ofthe present invention. Upon creation of the top level site 602, a set ofusers 606 a and 606 b, such as members of a site administrator group,were defined to maintain the top level sites 602 respectively, weregranted create site privileges to create sub-sites to the top-levelsites 602 and can add/can share to site privileges to service objectswith sites, such as by storing a reference to an object in the site'srepository directly or indirectly. In the FIG. 6 embodiment of thepresent invention, create site privileges may not be granted bydelegation to the set of users 606 or other sets of users based oncreate site privilege of a top-level site 602 by users 604 or 606.

Each of the users in the set of users 606 a may create a set ofsub-sites, such as site C (608 a) and site D (608 b), of site 602 a.Likewise, each of the users in the set of users 606 b may create a setof sub-sites, such as site E (608 c), of site 602 b. Upon creation ofsub-sites 608, a set of users 610 a, 610 b and 610 c, such as siteadministrators, were defined to maintain sub-sites 608 respectively aswell as automatically granted create site privileges to create sub-sitesto sub-sites 608. In the FIG. 6 embodiment of the present invention,create site privileges may be granted by delegation to sets of users(not shown) based on create site privilege of sub-sites 608 by users,such as 610, having create site privileges for sub-sites 608.

Each of the users in the set of users 610 may create a set of sub-site,such as site F (612), of site 608 a. Upon creation of sub-site 612, aset of users 614, such as site administrators, were defined to maintainsub-site 612 as well as automatically granted create site privileges tocreate sub-sites to sub-site 612. In the FIG. 6 embodiment of thepresent invention, create site privileges may be granted by delegationto sets of users (not shown) based on create site privilege of sub-site612 by users, such as 614, having create site privileges for sub-sites612.

The set of users, such as server administrators, may perform modifyingsystems properties type administration on properties including systemmodule display categories, default branding/theme, default modulepalette set for new sites and default security settings. Defaultsecurity setting include allow self-registration, email replacementpasswords, allow guest users, force re-authentication and allow per-userbranding overrides. Default value settings are values that one or morepermission of all new sites will be given automatically.

The set of users, such as server administrators, may also performmodifying systems properties type administration on properties andobjects including administrative site branding, dialog pages, errorpages and tool modules. Administrative site branding includes settingthe theme and structure of a site as well as enabling child site tooverride administrative site branding.

The mapping created sites to URL type administration may be performed onsites created in Framework 100. A site mapping to a URL typeadministration is an association of a particular site with a validhostname for a server/computer. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, site to URL mappings will be specified in the systemadministration context by, a set of user for a site, such as serveradministrator. Each site in the system can have a set of URL mappings.For example, a URL can only be mapped to one site.

Site to URL mappings specified in a system administration context may beoverridden by modifying primary site values. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, primary site values are modified employing anadministration site for a set of users, such as end-users. Theadministration site may be provided as a form for setting primary sitevalues. FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary form for setting primary site valuesaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. The form 700 mayinclude a site column 702 and a primary site column 704. The site column702 lists sites in Framework 100 accessible (enabled) to a set of usersfor whom primary site settings are being set, and “visible” for anadministrative set of users, such as site administrators. Primary sitecolumn 704 indicates a site designated as a primary site from the listof sites in the site column 702. The designation of a primary site isoptional and may be forgone by designating None.

A server administrator may optionally select a site as a default sitefor framework 100. In an embodiment of the present invention, a defaultsite is provided whenever a requested URL or IP address is not mapped toa site in Framework 100. A server administrator may optionally selectwildcard DNS behavior for sites. The wildcard DNS option disables siteto URL mappings to make new sites in the system automaticallyaddressable as http://sitename.domainname. The domain name, such as“epicentric.com”, will be shared by all sites when the wildcard DNSoption is selected.

An object of a site may be shared (reused between sites) and madeavailable for reuse by another site directly or indirectly. FIG. 8illustrates an exemplary embodiment of object sharing (reuse) betweensites employing Framework 500, implemented by the present invention. Inthe FIG. 8 embodiment of the present invention, various methods aredepicted for sharing an object of site A 802 to site B 804 and site C814 under system and site administrative contexts. Permissions forsharing an object within a site may be set from within a site contextand system context. Permissions set from a site context will generate asystem group in the source group column for any new permissions added toa Permissions Granted table.

An object may be directly shared with a site in a site context. In anembodiment of the present invention, a reference to an object of site A802 is stored in the site repository for site A. The object of site Amay be shared directly with site B 804 through the execution of a sharetype administration. The share type administration may include storing,in the site B repository, a duplicate of the reference to the object.The execution of a share type administration may require that the siteperforming the type administration have can share privileges withrespects to the site where the object is being shared. This privilegemay be granted by setting a can share to site B permission for site A804. Users of site A, such as site Administrators for site A, may beprecluded from viewing the site B repository. Users of site A, such assite Administrators for site A, may be notified of objects shared aswell as allowed to discontinue use of shared objects. The object sharedmay be added to site B through the execution of a share typeadministration.

An object may be indirectly shared with a site in a site context. In anembodiment of the present invention, a reference to an object of site A802 is stored in the site repository for site A. The object of site A802 may be made available for reuse by site B 804, through the executionof a type administration. The type administration may include storing,in the section of the shared repository for site B, a duplicate of thereference to the object. The object made available for reuse by site Bmay be shared with site B by executing another share typeadministration. This share type administration may include storing inthe site B repository, a second duplicate of the reference to the objectsite A. The execution of a share type administration may require thatthe site performing the share operation have can share privileges forthe shared repository. The user performing the share type administrationto share the object to the site may have can add privileges with respectto the site where the object is being shared. These privileges may begranted by setting a can share to site B permission for site A 802.Users of site A, such as site Administrators for site A, may beprecluded from viewing the site B repository. Users of site A, such assite Administrators for site A, may be notified of objects shared aswell as allowed to discontinue the availability of objects for reusethat they transferred. The object shared may be added to site B throughthe execution of a share type administration.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a reference to an object ofsite A 802 is stored in the site repository for site A. The object ofsite A 702 may be shared indirectly or made available for reuse by siteB 804, through the execution of a share type administration. The sharetype administration may include storing, in a system repository, areference to the object of site A. The object made available for reuseby site B may be shared with site B by executing another share typeadministration. This share type administration may include storing inthe site B repository, a second duplicate of the reference to the objectfor the object of site A. The execution of a share type administrationmay require that the site performing the share type administration havecan share to system privileges with respects to the system repository.The user performing the share type administration to add the object tothe site may have can see shared privileges with respects to the sitewhere the object is being added. This privilege may be granted bysetting a can share to site B permission for site A 804. Users of siteA, such as site Administrators for site A, may be precluded from viewingthe site B section of the shared repository. Users of site A, such assite Administrators for site A, may be notified of objects shared aswell as allowed to discontinue the availability of objects for reusethat they transferred. The object shared may be added to site B throughthe execution of a share type administration.

An object shared to a first site may be further directly shared toanother site by the first site. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, a duplicate reference to an object of site A 802 is stored inthe site repository for site B. The object whose duplicate reference isstored in the site B repository of site B may be shared directly withsite C 814 through the execution of a share type administration. Theshare type administration may include storing, in the site C repository816, another duplicate of the reference to the object. The execution ofa share type administration may require that the site performing thetype administration have can share privileges with respects to the sitewhere the object is being shared. This privilege may be granted bysetting a can share to site C permission for site B. Users of site B andsite A, such as site Administrators for site A and site B, may beprecluded from viewing the site C repository 816. Users of site A andsite B, such as site Administrators for site A and site B, may benotified of objects shared as well as allowed to discontinue use ofshared objects. The object shared may be added to site C 814 through theexecution of a share type administration.

An object share to a first site may be further indirectly shared withanother site by the first site in a site context. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, a duplicate reference to an object of site A 802is stored in the site repository for site B. The object of site A 802,whose duplicate reference is stored in the site repository of site B,may be made available for reuse by site C 814, through the execution ofa type administration. The type administration may include storing, inthe section of the shared repository for site C 814, a duplicate of thereference to the object. The object made available for reuse by site Cmay be shared with site C by executing another share typeadministration. This share type administration may include storing inthe site C repository, a second duplicate of the reference to the objectsite A. The execution of a share type administration may require thatthe site performing the share operation have can share privileges forthe shared repository. The user performing the share type administrationto share the object to the site may have can add privileges with respectto the site where the object is being shared. These privileges may begranted by setting a can share to site C permission for site B 804.Users of site A and site B, such as site Administrators for site A andsite B, may be precluded from viewing the site B repository. Users ofsite A and site B, such as site Administrators for site A and site B,may be notified of objects shared as well as allowed to discontinue theavailability of objects for reuse that they transferred. The objectshared may be added to site C through the execution of a share typeadministration.

In an embodiment of the present invention, an object of site A 802,whose duplicate reference is stored in the site repository for site B,may be shared indirectly or made available for reuse by site C 814,through the execution of a share type administration. The share typeadministration may include storing, in a system repository, a duplicatereference to the object of site A. The object made available for reuseby site C may be shared with site C by executing another share typeadministration. This share type administration may include storing inthe site C repository, a second duplicate of the reference to the objectfor the object of site A. The execution of a share type administrationmay require that the site performing the share type administration havecan share to system privileges with respects to the system repository.The user performing the share type administration to add the object tothe site may have can see shared privileges with respects to the sitewhere the object is being added. This privilege may be granted bysetting a can share to site C permission for site B 804. Users of site Aand site 13, may be precluded from viewing the site C section of theshared repository. Users of site A and site B may be notified of objectsshared as well as allowed to discontinue the availability of objects forreuse that they transferred. The object shared may be added to site Cthrough the execution of a share type administration.

Once a reference to an object has been stored to either the siterepository of a site or the section of the shared repository of a site,a user of the site having can share privileges for another site may makeavailable for reuse or share any one of the objects to the other site.This chain of reuse may be performed by any user granted can shareprivileges and having a shared object associated with a site in whichthey administer. In an embodiment of the present invention, objects in achain of transfer will remain read-only.

An object shared or made available to a site may be made unavailable andunshared from the site. In an embodiment of the present invention, anobject shared or made available to a site may be unshared and madeunavailable for reuse, respectively, through the execution of a sharetype administration. The share type administration may include removinga reference to the object from a repository. The repository may be arepository of the site, a share repository and a systems repository. Forexample, site A may discontinue the availability of objects transferredto site B for reuse by site A. The availability of objects for reuse bya site and sharing of objects may be discontinued despite the can addprivileges of a site. For example, availability of an object isdiscontinued by executing a share type administration to remove areference to an object from a section of a shared repository for a site,even when the reference to the object has been stored in the siterepository for the site. The adding of objects to a site, making ofobjects available for reuse by a site, sharing of objects, making ofobjects unavailable and unsharing of objects has no effect onadministrative privileges granted to users and groups for the objects.

In an embodiment of the present invention, objects shared, madeavailable for reuse, added to a site, made unavailable for reuse andunshared may include compound objects. Compound objects, for thepurposes of the present invention, are objects that include childobjects that are structured in a hierarchy. Compound objects includesites, menus, and pages. A site compound object includes, but is notlimited to, a site, menus, pages and modules. For example, a siteincludes menus, the menus include pages and the pages include modules. Amenu compound object includes, but is not limited to, a menu, pages andmodules. A page compound object includes, but is not limited to, a pageand modules.

In an embodiment of the present invention, menus, pages and modules arethe compound objects that may be shared recursively. Recursive sharingincludes storing a reference to each child object of a compound objectwhen a reference to the compound object is stored in a repository. Forexample, sharing a page including three modules to a site includesstoring a reference to the page in the repository for the site as wellas references to each of the three modules. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, compound objects may be shared and made available forreuse without each child object of the compound object when a referenceto the compound object is stored to a repository. For example, sharing apage including three modules to a site, but only sharing the page withtwo modules, includes storing a reference to the page in the repositoryfor the site as well as references to two modules.

In an embodiment of the present invention, child objects whose referenceare not stored with their respective compound object will not appearwith the compound object when the compound object is added to the site.For example, a menu shared with some of the pages that the menu pointsto, but not all of them, will appear with broken links on the menu whenthe menu is added to the site. Child objects not shared may be obtainedfor addition to the site in another manner. For example, the brokenlinks of the menu may be customized by obtaining the non-shared pageselsewhere on Framework 100 or different pages in accordance with editprivileges that are granted over the menu. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, sharing a compound object with a site, making acompound object available for reuse by a site and adding a compoundobject for use by a site includes determining whether the compoundobject is in a site repository for a site and determining whether theuser has end-user enabled permission on the compound object.

A compound object made available for reuse by a site, shared to a site,and added to a site may be made unavailable and unshared from the site.In an embodiment of the present invention, a compound object shared ormade available to a site may be unshared and made unavailable for reuse,respectively, through the execution of a share type administration. Theshare type administration may include removing a reference to thecompound object as well as references to all child objects from arepository. For example, a page with three modules made unavailable forreuse includes removing reference to the page and the reference to thethree modules from the repository. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the removal of references to objects from a repository ofobjects added to a site removes the objects from the site. Child objectsnot shared, but obtained elsewhere, will remain available for sharing.

User groups may be shared between sites. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, user group objects shared with a site are shared asread-only. The site that the user group object are shared with will notbe able to add users to, or delete users from, this group. Permissionfor this group will not be modifiable. A set of users for the site maybe granted privileges to modify the permissions for the group.

An object that references and uses other objects may be made availablefor reuse by a site, shared to a site and added to a site. The objectmay be made available, shared and added to a site through the executionof a share type administration. The share type administration may be asimple share and a compound share. FIG. 9 is an exemplary tableillustrating objects and the objects they may reference and use. In asimple share type administration, a reference to the object thatreferences other objects is stored in a repository. In a compound sharetype administration references to the object that references otherobjects and reference to the other objects are stored in a repository.

Permissions can be inherited via group hierarchy, shares can also beinherited via group hierarchy. This doesn't mean that shared objectswill appear in multiple repositories according to hierarchy. It meansthat a site administrator who is higher up in the hierarchy than twoother site administrator groups will be able to see and manipulate notonly his/her own shares, but his/her child group's shares.

Sites may be configured to have a specific look-and-feel. Thelook-and-feel of a site is referred to, for purposes of the presentinvention, as the branding for the site. Objects in a site that may havebranding include pages of a site and navigational elements of a site.Branding may include a theme and a structure. A theme may be acollection of styles on a page of a site. Branding for a site may bedetermined, in part, by associating a theme with the site. Each style inthe collection of styles may pertain to a particular template (element).A set of styles, one for each of the element, may be grouped together toform a single theme. A server administrator may specify the branding fora site, including an administration site.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a theme is a permissionableand sharable object in a site. Each theme may include a system set ofcolors and fonts when first created. System color and font settings aredisplayed in the system context. Sever administrators can add additionalcolor and font settings to themes. The additional color and fontsettings may be overridden for each theme on framework 100. End usersmay override font and color settings with their own settings on sitesthat apply a font/color option. A font/color option for a site mayenable end users to override system font and color setting with theirown fonts and colors for that particular site.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a style is a JSP codefragment that controls the way a particular element is displayed. Anynumber of different styles may be used to display an element. Styles maybe provided as style objects in administrative sites. In an embodimentof the present invention, style objects are permissionable objects thatcan be shared between sites. Elements include, but are not limited to, achrome, a footer, a header, navigation (site controls) and tabs(navigation). The chrome includes elements that surround the actualcontent of a module. For example, a module title, as well as, edit,minimize, and delete buttons are all part of the module chrome. Theheader includes content that typically appears at the top of a page. Thesite controls include buttons, links, or other elements for navigatingto web pages that support other site features (such as userpersonalization pages). Site controls may be available in bothhorizontal and vertical configurations. Navigation includes navigationalelements for switching between front-door pages of a site. Navigationmay be available in both horizontal and vertical configurations.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a structure may be the layoutof elements on a page of a site. A structure may be a JSP code segmentthat defines the arrangement (look and feel) of elements on a particularpage. A structure may contain hard-coded custom look-and-feel logic(HTML and/or JSP). In an embodiment of the present invention, structuresare permissionable objects that can be shared across between sites.

The types of branding employable by a site includes a site defaultbranding, an installation default branding and a guest branding. Guestbranding includes a theme and structure that may be provided to a guestuser by a site allowing access to unauthenticated (not logged in) users.A guest user module set may be employed for each page in order tospecify modules available to the guest users. Each guest user module setmay be provided on an administrator site for a site. An administratormay modify a guest user module set for a page that the administrator hascan edit/delete privileges defined by can edit/delete permission for thepage.

Default branding includes a theme and structure automatically specifiedfor a site when the site is created. Default branding may be employed ina site allowing access by UN-authenticated users where guest branding isnot specified. The default branding for a site may be overridden by asite administrator of the site. Overriding default branding may beperformed by specifying a new theme and a new structure for the site.Overriding of default branding includes brand for menu items on a site.A higher level chrome branding may be overridden by specifying a chromewithin a site as the new chrome for the site. Installation defaultbranding includes a theme and structure specified for a site withoutdefault site branding.

The branding of navigational elements for a page of a site may include astructure. In an embodiment of the present invention, the structure ofnavigational elements includes one set of navigation elements, two setsof navigational elements, and grouping of different navigation levelsinto two sets. Site navigation elements may include any number ofnavigation levels. FIGS. 10-11 are exemplary embodiments of multi-levelnavigational configurations. In the FIG. 10 embodiment of the presentinvention, a three level navigational menu 1000 is depicted with level-11002, level-2 1004 and level-3 1006 each configured horizontally. In theFIG. 11 embodiment of the present invention, a three level navigationalmenu 1100 is depicted with level-1 1102 and level-2 1104 each configuredhorizontally and level-3 vertically 1106.

The structure component of a branding may contain two distinctnavigation elements. One of the two distinct navigation elements mayrender one set of menus on a page and the second of the two navigationelements may render a second set of menus on a page, as will bediscussed in detail herein below. The structure component determines theset of menus rendered by a navigation element. A site administrator mayspecify the menu levels to be rendered by a plurality of navigationalelements in a site having a plurality of menu levels.

For example, in circumstances involving two navigation elements, a siteadministrator may specify the first and second menu levels to renderemploying a first navigation element and the third level through thefifth level to render employing a second navigation element. The firstnavigation element will render menu levels 1-2 and the second navigationelement will render menu levels 3-5. Alternatively, a site administratormay specify the menu levels to render employing a navigational elementin a site having a plurality of menu levels. For example, incircumstances involving one navigation element, a site administrator mayspecify the second menu level to render employing by the navigationalelement, when a first menu level is grouped in a first subset and theremaining levels are grouped in a second subset. The navigationalelement will render the second menu level and the remaining levels inthe second subset.

Branding may be included on an administration site. The branding on anadministration site may be specified in a system context of anadministration site. Server administrators may set the branding for theadministration site. There may be an “allow referring sites to overrideadmin site branding” option, which is a system-wide setting thatcontrols whether or not the administration site's look-and-feel willchange based on a referring site's look-and-feel. The sub-section of thesystem admin site that controls these branding settings must ALWAYS beaccessible in the event that the admin site's branding fails for somereason. (The “Diag” sub-section should also always be accessible,regardless of potential branding deployment problems.)

FIG. 12 is an exemplary diagram illustrating deployment management forimporting and exporting components of a site between portals employed byframework 100. Deployment management may be implemented by a deploymentmanagement API 1202 within software 314. Deployment management mayinclude importing and exporting components of a site. Components of asite may include assets of objects in association with the site, such asmodules as well as elements that define the look, feel and navigation.Assets of an object include non-file assets and file assets.

A component may be exported through a deployment type administration.Deployment type administration to export a component may includedesignating a component for export employing a graphical user interface.An administration site may provide the graphical user interface. In anembodiment of the present invention, multiple components may besimultaneously designated for export including, but not limited to,components corresponding to an entire site. Components may be exportedbetween systems over a network 1204 employing techniques to transferfiles, such as FTP. In an embodiment of the present invention,components may be exported between systems by transfer to a computerreadable medium.

Deployment management API may employ a set of subsystems 1206 for asite. Each of the subsystems is configured to manage a type of componentassociated with the site. In the FIG. 12 embodiment of the presentinvention, the set of subsystems for a site includes a site subsystem, amodule subsystem, a template subsystem and a style subsystem. Deploymentmanagement API may query subsystems to identify components. A subsystemmay identify components for which the subsystem is configured to manage.For example, module subsystem may be queried to identify modules thathave been associated with the particular site.

Each subsystem may collect assets, such as file assets and non-fileassets, of each component they identified. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the non-file assets may be constructed as anextensible markup language fragment, such as an XML fragment, having apredetermined structure. The extensible markup language fragment maycontain the descriptor ID of identified components and the ID of thesubsystem that identified the component. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, each subsystem collects the extensible markup language andthe file assets for the components they identified. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, the extensible markup language and file assetscollected by each subsystem are grouped together.

The extensible markup language and the file assets collected by asubsystem may be stored as an individual file. FIG. 13 depicts anexemplary collection of extensible markup language 1302 and the file1304 assets stored as individual export files. The individual exportfiles may be component archive (CAR) files 1306. In the FIG. 12embodiment of the present invention, CAR files may include a page CARfile, a module CAR file and a menu CAR file. Individual CAR files may becollected and stored as a group export file. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the group export file (TRUCK) 1308 is a file readyfor transport in a zip format. Export files may be transmitted over anetwork to a remote system employing a file transfer protocol, such asFTP. In an embodiment of the present invention, export files may betransferred employing a computer readable medium.

Export files may be imported by a remote system. The export files may beimported through a deployment type administration. Deployment typeadministration may include designating an export file employing agraphical user interface provided by an administrative site. The exportfile may be any one of a CAR file or a TRUCK file. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, designation of a TRUCK file generates theextraction of each CAR file in a TRUCK file. Extensible markup languagefor each CAR file may be examined to determine descriptor IDs includedwithin the extensible markup language. Based on the descriptor IDs,components may be identified. The components may be extracted to theappropriate location in a file system of the portal. The XML fragment isthen parsed and the objects contained therein are instantiated in thedatabase or other relevant location.

Navigation within a site may be hierarchical where a navigable itemcontains a navigable item. Navigable items include a page, a site, auniform resource locator, a navigation level and a JSP include file.Navigation within a site may be an arbitrary hierarchical ordering ofmenu items that are arranged into distinct levels. A site navigation fora site may grow or shrink arbitrarily. The growth and shrinkage of asite navigation is dependent on the construction of the site navigationby an administrator, such as site or server. For example, anadministrator may construct a site navigation with 2 items but maymodify the site navigation to 3 items. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, each menu item is a navigable link to any one of thenavigable items.

A navigable link may be associated with a title. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, each menu item is associated with one link and titledespite the location of the menu item. A site navigation definition maybe associated with each menu item. FIG. 14 illustrates menu items ofmenus with link titles for menu items definitions. In the FIG. 14embodiment of the present invention, menu items 1402 may link the userto the navigable item as specified by navigation definitions 1404. Themenu item types include, but are not limited to, link-out type menuitems and contained type menu items. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, a link-out menu item is one in which the link that isspecified causes a redirect out of a particular site. For example, menuitems that refer to URLs or other sites are link-out menu items. In anembodiment of the present invention, a contained menu item is one inwhich the link that is specified navigates to a page within the site.For example, a menu item containing a link to a page or a JSP includefile is a contained menu item. Contained menu items cause a page withina site to be displayed. So contained menu items are the only kind ofmenu items that can be branded.

Site navigation may be edited through an edit navigation typeadministration. A site administrator having can edit site navigationprivileges for the site employing the site navigation may perform theedit navigation type administration. The site administrator may begranted the privilege by having the can edit site navigation permissionsset. Segments of a site navigation may be captured as a menu object. Amenu object is a permissionable and sharable object. FIG. 15 illustratesa segment of a site navigation captured as a menu object. In theembodiment of FIG. 15 of the present invention, a segment 1502 of sitenavigation 1500 is selected. The selected segment may be saved as a menuobject.

Returning briefly to FIG. 14. The segment of site navigation may beselected employing radial button 1406. Selection of a radial buttonselects the menu item and sub-menu items for the menu item as thesegment. The menu object may be shared, made available and added toother sites in the system in order to recreate the segment of the sitenavigation on the other sites as a menu of part of a menu. In anembodiment of the present invention, pages referenced by a menu objectshared to a site are also shared to the site. Modification to a sitenavigation employing the menu object may not effect the segment of thesite navigation from which the menu object originated.

As a permissionable object a menu object may be enabled or disabledbased on privileges granted a group viewing the site employing the menuobject. In an embodiment of the present invention, menu items aremodified based on the privileges granted to the group to which a user isa member. In an embodiment of the present invention, a menu itemcontained within a menu provides permissioning in a site context.Permissions for a menu item may include can edit per-site visibility andcan edit settings. Visible permission over a menu may grant a siteadministrator privileges to use that menu in a site navigation.Edit/delete permission may grant an administrator privileges toarbitrarily edit or delete the menu. Can Edit Per-Site Brandingpermission is a per-site privilege that may allow an admin to overridethe per-site branding on menu items contained in the menu.

The algorithm employed to render menus of a site may be selected througha menu presentation type administration. The algorithms to render a menuinclude a combined and an exclusive. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the default mode for rendering menus employs the combinedalgorithm. A site administrator having privilege to edit menupresentation mode for a site may perform the selection of the algorithmemployed by the site. FIG. 16 a illustrates a table for implementing thecombined algorithm. In the FIG. 16 a embodiment of the presentinvention, the combined algorithm provides a user access to menus basedon the privileges granted to the user due to membership in groups. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 16 a, table 1600 a includes menu items 1602a-1602 e and groups including an everyone group 1604, a sales group1606, a marketing group 1608 and an engineering group 1610 for a site.Application of the Combined algorithm to a user having membership in thesales group 1606 and a marketing group 1608 provides the user withaccess to Menu Items 1602 a-1602 c and 1602 d. As a result of all usersin framework 100 being members of the everyone group, the user isprovided access to menu items 1602 a-1602 b.

FIG. 16 b illustrates a table for implementing the exclusive algorithm.FIG. 16 b is best understood when viewed in combination with FIG. 16 a.In the FIG. 16 b embodiment of the present invention, the exclusivealgorithm provides a user access to menus based on a priority levelassigned to groups by a site administrator. In the embodiment of 16 b,table 1600 b includes groups 1606-1610 that have been assigned prioritylevels, where the menu item for the engineering group 1610 has priorityover menu items for both marketing group 1608 and sales group 1606 andmarketing group 1608 has priority over sales group 1606. Application ofthe exclusive algorithm to a user having membership in the engineeringgroup 1610 and the sales group 1606 provides the user with access tomenu items 1602 a-1602 b and 1602 d illustrated in FIG. 16 a. In anembodiment of the present invention, menu items enabled for the everyonegroup are provided to all users for access and the menu item for thegroup having the highest priority to which the users is a member is alsoprovided.

A site navigation for a site may use any number of menus. The siteadministrator of a site employing menus in its site navigation canselect one of the menus as a top level locking menu. FIG. 17 depicts anexemplary embodiment of a top level locking interface. In the FIG. 17embodiment of the present invention, the top level locking interfaceincludes drop down menu 1702 and radial buttons 1704. Drop down menu1702 may provide an administrator with menus of a site. Radial buttonmay provide an administrator with the ability to specify where the menuselected by drop down menu 1702 may be locked. A Menu may be locked tothe beginning, the end as well as the end and beginning of the top levelfor a site navigation. Locking at both the beginning and the end of thetop level means that the first level of navigation will be comprisedsolely of this menu.

FIG. 18 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a front door page of an enduser site employing menuing structures according to the presentinvention. In the FIG. 18 embodiment of the present invention, frontdoor page 1800 employs a control menu system 1802 and site navigationmenu system 1808. Control menus system include, but are not limited to,site controls 1804 and page controls 1806. Site controls 1804 may berendered by a site controls style. Site controls 1804 may include linksto pages, such as Front Door and My Account. Page controls 1806 may berendered by a page controls style. Page controls 1806 may include linksto pages, such as add and move, and any other page-aware end-user pagesexcept the front door. Site navigation 1808 may be rendered by one ormore site navigation styles. Site navigation 1808 styles may includenavigation links to Pages and JSP pages including files. The state ofany particular page can be defined at any time by parameters including aselected control menu tab and a selected navigation menu item. Theselected control menu tab defines which control menu tab is selected.The selected navigation menu item defines which site navigation menuitem is selected.

FIG. 19 depicts the rules determining the operation of the control menusystem and a site navigation system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 19, the page controls menuis rendered if the selected navigation menu item refers to the contenttype page. The page content of a page may be determined by the selectedcontrol menu tab. In an embodiment of the present invention, the PageContent of the page is determined by the Selected Navigation Menu Itemwhen the selected control menu tab has a link type front door. Thebranding of a page may be determined by the Selected Navigation MenuItem. In an embodiment of the present invention, selection of a menuitem from the Page Control menu followed by selection of a menu itemfrom the Site Navigation Menu not linked to a Page object automaticallyselects the Front Door link on the Site Control Menu. The contentassociated with a Menu Item is displayed in the Page Content area basedon the menu item selected on the site navigation menu.

An object of a site may be locked down to prevent modification of theobject. The object may be locked down through the execution of a sharetype administration. In an embodiment of the present invention, usershaving privilege to lock down objects include a server administrator anda delegate administrator.

For example, the site administrator is able to lock down the number andorder of pages in the site and most of the modules for each page exceptthe first. The Site Administrators for the site, who are employees ofanother company, are able to change the site's branding and createseveral new modules from building blocks to go on the first page, butnot the remaining pages.

End users may navigate through a site employing a site navigation tree.In an embodiment of the present invention, end user will see items onthe navigation tree they have been allowed to see. The end user maynavigate to the given page from a navigation tree. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, the end user will see the module instances theyhave been granted privileges to see once the end user has reached apage. The privileges granted to an end user may be based on permissionassociated with each module instance and menu item for the site. Thepermissions may include a system level permission and an accesspermission for the site. In an embodiment of the present invention, onlyone of these has to be true for the end user to see the instance oritem.

FIGS. 20 a-20 b are exemplary illustrations of consoles according to anembodiment of the present invention. In the FIG. 20 a embodiment of thepresent invention, a server console 2002 is depicted. The server consolemay be employed by a server administrator to perform administration on asystems context as discussed above. In the FIG. 20 b embodiment of thepresent invention, a site console 2004 is depicted. The site console maybe employed by a server administrator to perform administration on asite context as discussed above. The site console includes

While specific embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it will be understood by those havingordinary skill in the art that changes may be made to those embodimentswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1-39. (canceled)
 40. A method of sharing an object in a portalframework, the method comprising the steps of: storing a reference tothe object in a first repository, wherein the reference to the object isfor an object of a first site, and wherein the object is an invokablesoftware object; and performing a first operation to store a duplicateof the reference to the object in a second repository, wherein the firstoperation is in accordance with a first privilege granted as defined bya permission; providing access to the duplicate of the reference of theobject in the second repository.
 41. The method according to claim 40,further comprising the step of performing a second operation to add theobject to a second site.
 42. The method according to claim 41, furthercomprising the step of performing a third operation to remove theduplicate of the reference of the object from the second repository. 43.The method according to claim 42, wherein the third operation furthercomprises the step of removing the object from the second site.
 44. Themethod according to claim 41, wherein the step of providing access is inaccordance with a second privilege granted as defined by a permissionfor the second repository.
 45. The method according to claim 41, furthercomprising the step of performing a second operation to store a secondduplicate of the reference to the object in a third repository
 46. Themethod according to claim 45, further comprising the step of performinga third operation to add the object to a second site.
 47. The methodaccording to claim 46, further comprising the step of performing afourth operation to remove the duplicate of the reference of the objectfrom the second repository.
 48. The method according to claim 47,wherein the fourth operation further comprises the step of removing theobject from the second site.
 49. The method according to claim 40,wherein the first operation further comprises the step of storingreferences to each child object of the object in the second repository50. A computer program product for sharing an object in a portalframework, the computer program product comprising: a computer readablemedium; and computer program instructions, recorded on the computerreadable medium, executable by a processor, for performing the steps of:storing a reference to the object in a first repository, wherein thereference to the object is for an object of a first site, and whereinthe object is an invokable software object; and performing a firstoperation to store a duplicate of the reference to the object in asecond repository, wherein the first operation is in accordance with afirst privilege granted as defined by a permission; providing access tothe duplicate of the reference of the object in the second repository.51. The computer program product according to claim 50, furthercomprising computer program instructions for performing the step ofperforming a second operation to add the object to a second site. 52.The computer program product according to claim 51, further comprisingcomputer program instructions for performing the step of performing athird operation to remove the duplicate of the reference of the objectfrom the second repository.
 53. The computer program product accordingto claim 52, wherein the third operation further comprises the step ofremoving the object from the second site.
 54. The computer programproduct according to claim 53, wherein the step of providing access isin accordance with a second privilege granted as defined by a permissionfor the second repository.
 55. The computer program product according toclaim 54, further comprising computer program instructions forperforming the step of performing a second operation to store a secondduplicate of the reference to the object in a third repository
 56. Thecomputer program product according to claim 55, further comprisingcomputer program instructions for performing the step of performing athird operation to add the object to a second site.
 57. The computerprogram product according to claim 56, further comprising computerprogram instructions for performing the step of performing a fourthoperation to remove the duplicate of reference of the object from thesecond repository.
 58. The computer program product according to claim57, wherein the fourth operation further comprising the step of removingthe object from the second site.
 59. The computer program productaccording to claim 50, wherein the first operation further comprises thestep of storing references to each child object of the object in thesecond repository.